Developing a just society based on equity and equal opportunities for all with respect for diversity.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

An Education in Diversity

Sally Kerr and Victor Nantari

We are now in week 5 of our RAINS
project. We have recently visited various communities around Tamale and found
that the project is engaging with multiple levels of education within these
communities. Our recent visit to Faith Hill Community School, a known private school,
allowed them to facilitate a stronger relationship with their twinned
government school Dinga L/A, as well as encouraging an open shared experience. We are both at university, and understand how
important education is in facilitating a brighter future. Our blog aims to
focus on a cross cultural comparison between historical reflections of Ghanaian
education and Scottish education systems.

Victor: I am a Ghanaian and a proud one indeed. I have had my
education in Ghana and I really trust Ghanaian education. Not only because I am
a Ghanaian but I think we are a citadel of good education despite few set back
in infrastructure and logistics. Education
in Ghana has evolved over the years since its introduction. When I talk about
education in this context, I am basically referring to formal education. Down to
a brief history of formal education in Ghana, it can be traced to the pre-colonial
era when the Europeans first arrived in the Gold Coast. They build castles and were
basically traders and missionaries who settled at the coast. They traded with
the people and also spread the Gospel. However, the major barrier they faced
was language differences. To find a solution to this problem, they taught few
indigenes how to speak the English language who could act as interpreters. Also
they set up schools in the castles to cater for the education of their children
(they had with Ghanaian women) which eventually had captured many Ghanaians in
it. These schools taught basic
arithmetic and English language. This was the dawn of formal education in
Ghana. Education since then has played a major role in the lives of Ghanaians
positively and this cannot be over emphasized. There have however, been various
influences on education in Ghana such as cultural influences, religious
influences, political influences as well as social influences.

Sally: As I hail from Scotland our national heritage is built upon
the importance of a basic education regardless of age, gender or social class
each child should receive a sustainable amount of teaching and knowledge. The
history of Scottish education is rooted in religion and political activism and its
origins can be found in the Scottish Reformation during the sixteenth century.
Both Catholicism and Protestantism had a growing desire for literacy and
encouraged the system of pupil and teacher relationships. The church
essentially became a vehicle for promoting a basic level of education. What followed was ‘The Education Scotland Act’
of 1872 which made it compulsory for children between the ages of five to 13 to
undertake primary education in local communities. What is significant about
this act was that regardless of gender or social background, the child was
given the opportunity to learn basic numeric and literacy skills. What was next
to come has significantly had an influence across Europe and set a standard model
for global education systems: this was
the introduction to secondary education or ‘academies’. This remains crucial to
current individual education, as it provides a range of diverse subjects and
skills that are relevant to a nation’s social, economic and political
requirements. A historical example of
this is the ‘Edinburgh merchants’ who invested funding into academies, in
exchange for additional curricular activities such as welding, shoe making or
book keeping.

From my own personal observations
in Ghana, my host mother is the Headmistress of a junior high school, an
institution funded by the government and receiving one payment per year, in
September. They must budget strictly throughout the rest of the year and
restrict extracurricular activity. The schools are overcrowded and teachers are
vastly outnumbered due to the increase in populations within the community.

Should there be strong relationship between education and the state?

Sally : I feel that in Tamale, the state has too much control over
financial distribution in public schools, especially between subjects which, to
me, results in some subjects being alienated from the curriculum. The loss of a
subject may be more damaging to an individual’s career choices, especially
expanding subjects such as natural and social sciences, and thereby might
marginalise a student’s chances of a promising career. To reflect upon my
upbringing, the decision to remove a subject from curricular activity was
purely down to the individual and their parents and I think this is beneficial
because it allows the student to focus more on their own stronger attributes
such as languages, sciences and physical education.

Victor: I think there should
be a strong relationship between education and the state. The majority of the
institutions in the educational sector in the country are state-owned and
therefore are managed and funded by the state. A strong relationship between
the state and education will help ensure efficiency in the educational system
as well as proper management and supervision of stated own property. Also, a strong
relationship between the state and education allows for private institutions in
the country to be accredited and approved by an authorised body to provide
quality education. I believe a strong relationship will help improve education
in the country and make the government more responsive to the educational needs
of the people.

Do you feel like religion/ beliefs/political/cultural influences at
home restricts some parts of education?

Victor: As stated earlier, there have been several influences on
education in Ghana such as political, cultural, religious and social
influences, with the political environment in Ghana having particular effect.
Various political parties have had different policies which keeps the
educational system unstable. There are some cultural views that have a negative
effect on female education which has caused an imbalance in the educational
system of Ghana with regards to gender representation, thus having more males
in school than female. Female education is seen in some rural areas in Ghana as
unnecessary but recent initiatives taken by the government and Non-Governmental
Organisations have improved the situation greatly.

Sally: Actually, back home I
feel that our ethical and religious differences are left outside the classroom.
We have specific classes for religious education and these give students the
opportunity to have a shared cultural experience between members of the class.
I am an atheist myself and do not believe in a God and I feel these classes
should be an optional choice.

Do you feel that there are an equal amount of boys and girls studying
in each subject i.e. sports, sciences biology, chemistry, physics?

Sally: Back home there is a very equal distribution of male and
females between subjects, and as a
matter of fact, those subjects that may be considered very expressive and
feminine in some cultures, are very popular amongst male students- there is
very little stigma around subjects.

Victor: With regards to equal representation in areas of sports,
sciences, among others I feel there are more men as compared to women who are
engaged in these activities in the Ghanaian society. The ability of women to
participate in areas such as sports is less encouraged and it is mostly seen as
an all-male activity. Women in Ghanaian society are regarded as vulnerable and
soft in nature and so often engage themselves in activities that are seen as
female friendly such as hairdressing, weaving and bead making among others.
Women in sciences draws me to the educational representation of females in
Ghana. There are women in sciences in Ghana, however, as compared to their male
counterparts there are more males in science than females as females were
discouraged from going to school as compared to males in the past.

From our joint observations it
seems there are many differences in how education is organised around the globe
according to culture and tradition. What’s important is that every child is
entitled to a good level of education regardless of where they’re coming from:
it’s a human right, and it needs to be protected.